Information technology (IT) specialists have recovered a list of 50 fraudulent companies that were involved in the plundering of funds at Capital Hill which include Crossmarketing owned by Malawi Vice President, Khumbo Kachali.

The companies, which had no contract with the Malawi Government but were being paid millions of kwachas, had allegedly been deleted from the system by Office of President and Cabinet (OPC) Accounts Assistant, Frank Mwaza, one of the key suspects in the ‘cash-gate’ scandal.

The document shows that the 50 companies accumulatively were paid K1 330 000 000 yet they had no contract with government.

And deleted on September 16, 2013 by Geoffrey Sinoya was information about Khumbo Kachali’s Crossmarketing which was given K68 576 000 through cheque number 028531 and voucher number O9OPV2001659.

Kachali: His company involved

The vice president’s company also got K28 433 000 through cheque number 028532 and voucher number O9OPV2001662.

On the same day, Sinoya trashed Sky Civil Building Contractors owned by fired Minister of the Elderly and Disability, Reen Kachere’s relation, Stan Kachere.

Kachere’s company was paid K91 320 000 through cheque number 028522 and voucher number O9OPV2001669 and also K71 680 000 through cheque number 028523 and voucher O9OPV2001673.

According to an inside source at the OPC privy to the matter, the experts recovered the information from a back-up saver at the office.

According to the document, National Construction Industry Council was also paid millions in 15 transactions.

The retrieved information gives details of the persons involved in the facilitation of the transaction, the amounts involved and the beneficiaries. This information has been passed on to the law enforcement agencies to analyse and come up with a firm basis for further action.

On some of the transactions, the Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) has already filed charges in the Magistrate Courts. The processes will be on-going as further revelations come to the fore.

This is the information that President Joyce Banda gave to leaders of political parties in Malawi at Kamuzu Palace in Lilongwe on Thursday where she updated them on the actions that government is taking in order to address the weakness in the Public Financial Management (PFM).

“As a result, Government has been able to identify suspicious transactions and are being investigated,” she said.

The meeting attracted a wide range of representation from both the government and opposition side.